Living
by weirdgirl42
Summary: Epilogue to the "Waiting Series." Takes place about a year later. Read the other stories first.


_This is the epilogue to the "Waiting Series." Read the other parts first. Also, I will freely admit that this story comes from not only my own feelings about marriage but also at my sometimes annoyance at the number of stories where Brennan just gives up her feelings about the subject because Booth asks. The woman doesn't believe in marriage, and for legitimate reasons. I think it's out of character for her to suddenly change that. That being said, some of the reasons I give in this story have more to do with me and my own life. Okay, rant over, enjoy!  
_

**Living**

"So Booth," Max said, "are you gonna make an honest woman out of my daughter?"

Booth had a flash of déjà vu. The two men were once again waiting for food at the bowling alley bar, watching Brennan and Parker bowl a game. He chuckled to think that it was nearly a year since the last time Max had begun a serious conversation over beer, pizza, and bowling balls.

"Bones is probably the most honest person I've ever met," Booth replied. "I don't think I can make her any more honest."

"Come on," Max said, "you know what I mean. Are you gonna marry her or what?"

Booth smiled a little ruefully, "She doesn't want to get married Max. And I respect that."

" I know Tempe's views on marriage. But I figured once you two were together, she'd give up some of that and realize marriage could be a good thing when it's with the right person. When it's with someone she loves. And I always hoped I'd get to walk my little girl down the aisle."

Booth was silent for a moment. Marriage was something he had always assumed would be a part of his life. Even after Rebecca turned him down he still believed that when he found the right person he would do the whole big wedding in a church with bridesmaids and his mother crying in the pews and everything. When he got together with Brennan, he realized that vision of his future would probably never happen. He couldn't deny that the realization bothered him. But he also couldn't deny that what he got out of their relationship was far more important than a ring and a blessing from a priest.

"I don't measure your daughter's love by her willingness to give up on her beliefs," Booth replied at last.

"But it's okay for her to ask you to give up yours?" Max countered.

Again, Booth considered the man's words. He remembered the one time he'd brought up the subject of marriage with Brennan, about six months after they'd gotten together. She had turned to him and said that regardless of how she felt about the antiquated ritual, she wouldn't even consider marrying him until marriage was a right for everyone. She told him that she couldn't participate in a social institution that excluded people because of who they loved. Her answer had not been what he had expected and he was surprised to find himself filled with pride, rather than regret.

"She made me realize that I wasn't giving up my beliefs. I believe in love, and I believe that everyone has a right to love. After everything we've gone through to be together, why should we be able to get married just because we happen to be different genders?"

Max sighed, "She got you with logic then?"

Booth chuckled. "I guess so."

"And you're really okay with it? It doesn't bother you that she'll never be your wife?"

It would be a lie to say that it didn't bother him at all, it did. It was hard to undo so many years of belief and fantasy about his future. But Booth looked out and saw Brennan lean over to pick her ball out of the return ramp. In the harsh florescent light he saw a brief glimmer from the chain she wore around her neck always. It was a delicate strand of silver that was long enough to hide its contents under her tops. His hand went unconsciously to his own sternum where a matching chain lay beneath his t-shirt. It had been what she would call coincidence and he would call fate. That first Christmas they spent together they had both bought necklaces for each other that held objects of great significance.

Around his neck, hanging next to his St. Christopher medal, hung a small white-gold charm shaped like the incus bone. One of the smallest bones in the body, the incus vibrated in the ear to help transfer sound to the brain. Brennan had explained that it was not only her favorite bone, it also reminded her of him, and the way he helped her brain hear things she would otherwise miss.

Their food arrived and Booth was saved from having to respond. They carried the food back to their waiting companions and the four sat down to eat, talking animatedly back and forth. When Parker made a joke about Brennan's two gutter balls in a row, Max watched his daughter lean over and playfully give the boy a noogie. When she did, her necklace fell out from underneath her shirt and before she automatically placed it back out of sight, Max nearly choked when he realized what hung from the chain. He looked over at Booth who, seeing what had happened, shrugged and grinned.

Parker and Brennan finished their pizza and left the table to finish their game. Max leaned over to Booth, "Those were your dog tags weren't they?" he asked.

Booth nodded. That Christmas she had nearly cried when she opened the box and saw the metal tags resting at the bottom. Though she wasn't a person who was comfortable with metaphors and symbolism, she understood the significance of the gift. He was intrusting her with everything he had been, trusting that she would never think less of him for it. She had placed them around her neck and there they had stayed ever since. Sometimes hidden under the clunky beads she usually favored, but still nestled against her skin, as close to being a part of her as they could be.

Now, looking over at Max, Booth just smiled. "She's more than my wife Max," he said. "A wife is something finite. It's a title that has almost lost its meaning these days." He paused and thought back to the beginning of their relationship when they'd lain in a hotel bed and shared secrets that no one else knew. He thought about before that, when they'd waited patiently for the right time to take that last step over the proverbial line. "Bones is…she's everything. There's no way she could be more to me. A piece of paper, a blessing by the church. They seem too small for what we have. She carries my past. And she'll always be my future."

Max had no reply. Instead he just clapped Booth on the shoulder. "You're a good man. I meant what I said when I told you I wanted that for her. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I'm proud to have you as a son."

The moment was interrupted by Parker running over and pulling Max to their lane where they were about to start another game. "Come on Dad," the boy called over his shoulder. Booth grinned widely and followed, stopping only to wrap an arm around Brennan's shoulders and softly kiss her temple.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"For being my Bones."

**The End**

_so this is the real end. thanks to everyone who read the whole series. you guys rock! _


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